Hint at what the reader should expect in the following pages

When a reader chooses to read your book, they already have an idea of what the book is about. The opening scene serves as a way to continue their attraction to the story. The opening scene should assure the reader that by reading the book, they will have a takeaway in the end which could take the form of a lesson they will learn or an affirmation of an already held belief. It is in the opening scene that the reader’s knowledge of the story continues to deepen. This assurance made at the beginning should be fulfilled by the end of the book.

Introduce a character who is fundamental to the storyline

When thinking of who to include in your opening scene, choose a character who will play a key role in the story. They could be the main character in the novel or someone closely related to them. While you can incorporate more than one character, it is important to remember not to crowd the first few pages of your work with too many characters as this may confuse the reader. Take time developing each character and only choose the character whose role in the story ties, in a meaningful way, to its beginning.

Clarify the genre from the beginning

If you are writing a science-fiction novel, include elements of the genre right from the beginning to give the reader a clear picture of what to expect. If you start the book as a romance novel then in the middle you suddenly introduce aliens and spacecraft from outer space, the sections of the story will be disconnected which will interrupt the flow of the story.

Hint at the conflict

You might not go right into exploring the story’s conflict but you can still hint at the underlying conflict in the work. This will enlighten the reader to the dissension that is already present between the characters or within the main character. It will build the reader’s expectation of what could happen next and how the conflict will be resolved or will play out in the end. Just like other features of a great opening scene, the conflict could be just a suggestive line which is subtle but makes it clear to the reader that a conflict exists within the work.

Tie the opening scene to the overall plot

As good as your opening scene is, it will serve little purpose if does not relate to the story as a whole. In fact, despite it being great, if it does not relate to the work it will be confusing and will raise the reader’s hope for the wrong reasons. The beginning should tie seamlessly to the whole novel in all aspects, that is, characterization, themes, climax, dialogue, and the end of the book. To achieve this, have an outline of the whole story even before you begin so that you can work out ways in which everything will come together and how the important components will relate to each other.